Dear Parents-

This Saturday, May 13, is the anniversary of the apparition of Our Lady to three shepherd children in the village of Fatima in Portugal in 1917. Our Lady appeared six times to Lucia, and her cousins Francisco, and his sister Jacinta, between May 13, 1917 and October 13, 1917. Pope Benedict wrote that the central message of Fatima is “the exhortation to prayer as the path of “salvation for souls” and, likewise, the summons to penance and conversion.”

Also coming up this Saturday is First Holy Communion for our 2nd graders. This is a special moment for our students, as they will be receiving the sacrament of the Eucharist for the first time. We ask that you continue to keep our students in your prayers as they prepare for this momentous occasion.

We are in Week 2 of the third and final MAP Test window. Students grades 3-7 are testing in math, reading and language arts over the three week period. Please make sure your children are in school during this time to ensure adequate opportunity to complete the tests. If you have specific scheduling questions or conflicts, please contact your child’s teacher.

For the first time since 2019, SJS has been able to offer band to our students, grades 4 and up. So with much excitement, our students ask that you save the date for our Spring Concert, on Tuesday, May 16 at 7:00 pm in the Hall. Our students have been working hard to prepare for this event, and we know it will be a wonderful showcase of their talents. As always, admission is free, and we invite all parents and guardians to attend.

Our end-of-year calendar is packed with many wonderful events you don’t want to miss! Volunteers will be needed for Field Day, and if you are interested in volunteering for that or any event, you must comply with the requirements of the Office for the Protection of Children and Young People. This includes background check and attendance at the VIRTUS seminar. Please contact Beth Covert if you have any questions at bcovert@sjcherndon.org.

Please pay attention to this requirement as we can not override or ignore this mandate, and unfortunately, it happens that parents have to be turned away from an event disappointed… as are the kids! A quick email to Mrs. Covert confirms your status. We look forward to seeing everyone who wants to volunteer at events!

Mark your calendar for Thursday, May 18, and join us for the PTO General Meeting, 7:00PM. This is a great opportunity to connect one last time before summer break!

Pray for the end of gun violence, and for the conversion of hearts filled with hate.

As always, if you have any questions, or if I can be of any assistance, please let me know.

Refreshed, revived and renewed by "faith, love and hope." (1Thess. 1:2-3)

Denise Rutledge

Principal

 Building Wisdom and Faith Through Service to God

Providing children the opportunity to feel heard, participate in family activities, and share in decision-making helps them build necessary life skills. However, sharing power can also lead to giving too much power or control to children. Giving them too much control can lead to the exact opposite of the healthy well- balanced child! Click HERE to read more!

Parents are strongly advised that the SJS parking lot must be a distracted driving free zone. On entering the lot, particularly for morning carpool, parents must TURN DOWN radios, and phones should be off, out of reach. 

Morning drop-off is a particular safety concern as engines are on and cars are in drive. DRIVERS MUST REMAIN ALERT TO ALL SITUATIONS.

St. Joseph Catholic School is hosting a Virtus Seminar on Thursday May 11, 2023 at 5:00 pm in Hall A. If anyone needs to attend this seminar, please go to Virtus.org and register for the session. Questions? Please contact Beth Covert at bcovert@sjcherndon.org or 703.880.4357

The Talent Show is scheduled for Thursday, May 11 at 1:45pm. Parents enter through the gym doors.

The Art Show was a really big success! It was wonderful to be able to stroll through the show last Wednesday and see the creativity of our students on display. Thank you to everyone who supported our program by purchasing framed work and/or by purchasing raffle tickets. The winner of the Art Raffle was Paige T. in 1R!

Work is now ready to go home for families who ordered work through the Virtual Show, but didn't make it to the In Person show to pick it up. Sibling work is bagged together and will go home with the oldest student. Artwork will be taken to homerooms for students in grades 4-8 to take home at the end of the day. Artwork for students in K-3 is at the Front Desk for pick up (if there are no older siblings). For K-3 Extended Day students, the work will be sent out with them at the end of the day. If you ordered reproductions to be shipped to the school, an email or notice in the Bark will go out to let you know when they arrive (within a couple of weeks).

LINK is in urgent need of non-perishable foods to support area families in need. Boy Scout Troop 913, Cub Scout Pack 913 and Saint Joseph School are helping respond by holding a spring food drive.

Please bring in any non-perishable food items between now and Friday May 12th to help support our neighbors. Hunger doesn't take a holiday and your generosity will help ensure children and families are not going hungry during the spring and summer months. If you have any questions please contact Nick Manetto at nickmanetto@gmail.com.

Items in most need:

Large diapers 4,5,6

Laundry detergent

Canned soup

Canned fruit 

Dry beans 

Pasta sauce

Pasta

To make sure our students have a day full of fun, we need your help. If you would like to volunteer at a station and cheer on our students, please consider volunteering. If you have any questions please contact Mr. Pierson at g.pierson@sjschoolva.org. Thank you!

What is Field Day? A day where students participate in relay games at various stations as a team. A day of friendly competition and loads of fun!

Field Day is scheduled for May 26th!

All Grades K-8 will participate in Field day. Let's go, Saints!

PTO Executive Board Updates:

For the 2023-2024 school year: Per Bylaws, two new Members At Large will be

appointed by the Principal. Mrs. Maureen Morgan, current Secretary, shall move to the

position of VP Fundraising.

We hereby seek nominations for the position of Secretary.



Please email PTO President, Lisa Schultz, at pto@sjschoolva.org with a brief letter

expressing interest and qualifications by May 15. The President shall also accept

nominations from the floor [at the Open Meeting] provided the person nominated is

present or have given his/her written consent for nomination.

The Saints Spirit Camp welcomes all rising 1st-8th Grade SJS students. This program is a great way to learn cheerleading basics, improve current skills such as stunting and tumbling, meet new and current team members, and have fun! No experience is necessary.

Dates: June 12- June 16, 2023 

Time: 9:00 am- 12:00 pm

Location: SJS Gym

For more information and to Sign-Up: https://forms.gle/SPVyZ82g7Xe6A6C79

Discover God’s call for your life!

God is calling you to a unique purpose in life, a work of love that only you can do. Discern your charisms (spiritual gifts) and begin to discern God’s call. You have received gifts in Baptism and Confirmation through which God intends His love to reach others. Come and discover these charisms in you!

Click HERE to learn more!

WHAT IS THE CALLED & GIFTED WORKSHOP?

The Called & Gifted™ Discernment Process has been used since 1993 by over 200,000 lay, ordained, and religious Catholics and other Christians around the world. It is designed to help Christians discern the presence of charisms in their lives. Charisms, or spiritual gifts, are special abilities given to all Christians by the Holy Spirit to give them power both to represent Christ and to be a channel of God's goodness for people. Whether extraordinary or ordinary, all charisms ought to be exercised in the service of God (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2003). All three parts of the process are necessary for discovering where you are gifted. 

Click HERE to read more.

Vacation Bible School is now FULL! We are still searching for adult volunteers: co-leader for snacks and co-leader for Arts and Crafts. If interested, please contact Roz Murphy at religioused@sjcherndon.org. Dates for VBS: June 26 - June 30 9:00am-noon

Tianna Williams © https://ti-design.ca/

St. Joseph Catholic School

750 Peachtree Street, Herndon, VA 20170

Tel: 703-880-4350 Fax: 703-880-4320